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Matt Tuiasosopo
Matthew P. Tuiasosopo (born May 10, 1986 in Bellevue, Washington) is a Major League Baseball utility player for the Seattle Mariners. He is the brother of Marques and Zach, and the son of Manu Tuiasosopo. The Seattle Mariners drafted him 93rd overall in the third round in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. Professional career 2004 He began his pro career with the Peoria Mariners in , hitting a solo home run in first career-at bat on July 10. Tuiasosopo hit safely in 18 of 20 games and reached base safely in 19 of 20 games. He had a 13-game hit streak, hitting .467 from July 10-25, and tied for the team lead in home runs with four. On August 5, he was promoted to the Everett AquaSox. At the end of the season he participated in the 2004 Arizona Instructional League. 2005 In , he was with Seattle's Low-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He hit .276 with three home runs and 45 RBI. He was ranked number 36 on Minor League News' annual Fab 50.http://www.minorleaguenews.com/baseball/features/articles2005/08/15/36.html He recorded a season-high 13-game hitting streak to start the season, batting .423 with eight runs, three doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs during that time. Tuiasosopo had 27 multi-hit games, three four-hit games and six three-hit games. He hit home runs in back-to-back games on June 9 and 10 2006 In , he split time between the Mariners' High-A Inland Empire 66ers and Double-A San Antonio Missions affiliates. He batted a combined .248 with two home runs and 44 RBI. He played with the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League that fall. He hit .306 with one home run with 34 RBIs, 31 runs scored and five stolen bases in 59 games with Inland Empire but only batted .185 with one home run, 16 runs scored and 10 RBIs with San Antonio. 2007 Tuiasosopo spent the season with the Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. He hit .424 with 8 runs, 5 doubles and 3 RBIs during a season-high 10-game hitting streak from April 5-14. He recorded a double in 5 consecutive games from April 6-1. He was named to the Southern League All-Star team and later that season played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. At the end of the 2007 campaign Tuiasosopo was rated as the Mariners No. 10 prospect by Baseball America. He was named to the Minor League News Fab 50 again in 2007.http://www.minorleaguenews.com/premium/baseball/features/articles2007/07/15/45.html 2008 Until September he was playing with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. On September 5, 2008, he collected his first Major League hit, a double, against pitcher Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees while playing for the Seattle Mariners. He finished the 2008 season batting .281 with Tacoma and .159 with the Mariners. 2009 Matt made the Opening Day roster for the Mariners. On July 4, 2009 Tuiasosopo made his first rehab start with the AZL Mariners. Tuiasosopo was activated soon after the All-Star break.http://www.thenewstribune.com/512/story/801601.html Tuiasosopo hit two home runs against the Portland Beavers on August 28 helping the Rainiers to their seventh straight victory.Matt Tuiasosopo homers twice in Rainiers victoryseattletimes.nwsource.com He finished the season batting .261 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 59 games for the Rainiers. In four playoff games, he batted .313 with one home run and four RBIs. On September 13 Tuiasosopo was called-up to Seattle after the Rainiers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Sacramento River Cats.Mariners promote three from Triple-A mariners.com He said this about the playoff experience: .Another taste of Majors for Tuiasosopo mariners.com}} On September 27, during the pre-game show on 710 ESPN Radio, color man Mike Blowers predicted that Tuiasosopo would hit his first major league home run in his second at bat of the game on a 3-1 fastball into the left center field second level of Rogers Centre. Sure enough, in the fifth inning of their game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tuiasosopo delivered, although the home run went above the left field bullpen on technically what is the first level of the stadium.Blowers Sees the Future - Precisely - for Tuiasosopo Greg Johns, seattlepi.com, 29 September 2009 Call of the Year Shannon Drayer, mynorthwest.com, 28 September 2009. 2010 Matt has spent time in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners during the 2010 season. He has played his first major league games at shortstop, first base, and in the outfield. 2013 He made the Detroit Tigers Opening Day Roster in 2013 Personal life His father and brothers played football in college — Manu attending UCLA and his two older brothers attending the University of Washington — Matt signed a professional baseball contract after graduating from Woodinville High School. Although he chose baseball, Matt had a promising high school football career. He was selected to play in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Before signing with the Mariners, he signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Washington.http://www.minorleaguenews.com/baseball/features/articles2005/08/15/36.html Matt played for the Woodinville West Little League at the Little League Western Regional Tournament in San Bernardino, California. Woodinville West lost to Cypress Federal in the championship game that lasted 7 innings. Notes External links Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:American people of Samoan descent Category:Baseball players from Washington (U.S. state) Category:Major League Baseball third basemen Category:U.S. Army All-American football players Category:Arizona League Mariners players Category:Everett AquaSox players Category:Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Category:Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Category:San Antonio Missions players Category:West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Category:Tacoma Rainiers players